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UPCOMING EVENTS

National Parks Group Names Ron Sundergill Head of San Francisco Office

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:

March 7, 2006

Contact:

Andrea Keller Helsel, NPCA, 202-454-3332

National Parks Group Names Ron Sundergill Head of San Francisco Office

San Francisco - The nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) today announced it has appointed Sonoma county resident Ron Sundergill as director of its San Francisco-based Pacific Regional Office.

“Ron brings a wealth of knowledge and experience engaging elected officials on conservation issues,” said Tom Kiernan, president of the nonpartisan national parks group.

Sundergill will work to build local awareness of national park issues and develop public and congressional support for the federal funding and protections needed to preserve and care for national parks in California and across the nation. Research has shown that national parks operate, on average, with only two-thirds of the needed funding—a system-wide shortfall in excess of $600 million annually.

Prior to joining NPCA, Sundergill served as president of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy in Santa Rosa California, a non-profit organization that educates leaders working to create sustainable public policy. He also represented the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) before the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, federal energy budget priorities, and tax policy. Prior to joining UCS, Sundergill served as the Director of Legislation in the Maryland Department of Human Resources.

Sundergill served as president of the Frederick County, Maryland, Board of County Commissioners from 1990 to 1994. This was an elected position representing 150,000 residents. He was also responsible for the management of the county during the time period, serving as the county chief executive and board chair. Prior to his work as an elected official at the county level, Sundergill worked for the U.S. Catholic Conference’s Campaign for Human Development (CHD) where he directed a business capitalization program targeted to support cooperative business ventures and cooperative housing in low-income communities in the United States. While employed at CHD, he co-founded the National Network of Grantmakers. Sundergill holds a B.A. in political science from Hood College in Maryland.